West Ham United and Tottenham lead race for Conor Gallagher transfer
West Ham and Tottenham are leading the fight for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, who is ready to leave the club this summer, according to the Evening Standard.
The newspaper has reported on its website on 24 July that Chelsea have told Gallagher that he is surplus to requirements, with the midfielder now ready to leave Stamford Bridge after spending 17 years at the club.
The report also shares that West Ham are prepared to push ahead of Spurs in the fight, having pocketed £105million from Declan Rice’s deal to move to Arsenal, after attempting to bring Gallagher to the London Stadium last summer before his exit was blocked by then-manager Thomas Tuchel.
He would provide West Ham with something different
Gallagher offers a different profile to the midfielders currently on the books at West Ham, and indeed to the other midfielders the club have targeted in this transfer window in their efforts to replace Rice.
The Chelsea academy graduate offers more of an attack-minded option to many other options, with an excellent knack for positioning and timing his runs into the box. He falls into the 91st percentile for xG when compared to other midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues.
Gallagher is also in the 97th percentile for touches in the opposition penalty area with 3.32 per 90, while his 6.09 progressive passes per 90 have him in the 96th percentile. It is a testament to the player’s work rate that, as well as his excellent attacking stats, he also ranks in the 96th percentile for blocks, averaging 1.92 per 90. [Stats from FBref.com].
His relentless pressing and tireless work rate would provide the Hammers with a base to set up their defensive and attacking options, with David Moyes likely to utilise Gallagher in a deeper midfield position with the opportunity to break forwards.
The Hammers have also targeted more defensive options this summer, with the likes of Edson Alvarez and Joao Palhinha providing more like-for-like options to fill the void left by Rice.
In other West Ham news, the club could ‘once again’ move for La Liga striker as he has been made available.